CACE Human Rights Committee

The Human Rights Committee provides an opportunity on a regular basis for CACE members with an interest in workplace human rights to discuss and stay current on human rights issues, developments and trends across Canada. It also provides an opportunity to interact with CACE members from across Canada.

The Human Rights Committee meets by teleconference approximately once per month with some exceptions. A standing agenda item allows members to share helpful or significant caselaw decisions from across Canada. Members also discuss recent or proposed legislative amendments and procedural rule changes in each jurisdiction including at the federal level. The cross-Canada focus of the Committee is very helpful because human rights issues that arise in one jurisdiction tend to arise in others. Also, some members practice in more than one jurisdiction. In addition to sharing substantive legal developments, members also have an opportunity to exchange practical advice and insight in a collegial environment, including with respect to employer defences and the duty to accommodate.

The meeting minutes provide details of discussions, as well as links to or PDF copies of recent cases, trends or recent or important unreported decisions. The Committee makes recommendations for a session at CACE’s annual conference focussed on human rights. The Committee is also responsible for coordinating at least two webinars a year for the CACE membership, including in-house counsel members, on workplace human rights issues. Recent webinar topics have included: Hot Topics in Human Rights: Alcohol & Drug Testing and Family Status/Caregiving; Human Rights Committee - Age Discrimination: Challenges for Employers; Human Right Committee - CACE: Ethics in Human Rights: Dealing with Liars, Joint Retainers and Selfies; Human Rights Committee - #WeJustNeedToPee: Evolving Trans-Rights in Canada; and Human Rights Committee – Disentangling the Disease from the Discipline: Human Rights & Self Accommodation.

Cross Canada Guide to Human Rights Law for Employers book!

The Human Rights Committee has drawn on its membership of distinguished firms and lawyers from across Canada to develop a truly unique legal publication that is intended for the benefit of adjudicators, mediators, lawyers, human resources professions, human rights advocates, and students who practice in the area of human rights or who have an interest in this important and rapidly changing area of the law.

In a consistent format, readers have access to procedures, practice tips, key cases, and emerging issues in each of the Canadian jurisdictions. This especially benefits organizations with operations in different parts of Canada. At least as important, it provides for comparative analysis, which is of considerable benefit in terms of current application and ongoing development of human rights law and procedures throughout Canada. We are proud to share that we have published a third edition (September 2016) to the original 2013 edition that is published by Thompson Reuters. To purchase a copy of the book, please click here.

The Human Rights Committee along with the Advocacy Committee have made submissions to the Ontario Human Rights Review with respect to proposed legislation and procedural rule changes. The Committee would consider other opportunities to act as a voice for employers and their counsel in court cases and on policy matters.

ABOUT CACE

After two years of organizing, the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers held its inaugural conference at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel on Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25, 2004. The CACE Founders’ Committee, now the Board of Directors, includes representation from all of the provinces and some of the leading labour lawyers in the country.